This is a quick hike through a neat area of forest and rock formations. The hike is steep in places but very manageable. I didn't feel there were any areas too dangerous until you reach the top by the look out. We had light snow on the trail as we got closer to the top and were reminded it is now November and time to carry all our winter gear, I was glad I had chosen to wear my thermals. The look out tower was open and in great shape, we ate our lunch inside. Thanks to all the volunteers who recently restored it!!!! I can't recommend enough to pay attention to the driving directions and set your mileage as soon as you turn off Hwy 410. It gets pretty confusing as you get farther down forest road 7030 and knowing the mileage and following the directions as typed on the trip will ensure you find the trail head.

Directions on WTA.org are great - not hard to find. However, the coordinates are incorrect on the site. The CORRECT coordinates are 47.16329, -121.47421. After turning off FS 70, roads were a bit washboarded and pot-holed, but not bad. FS 70 is in GREAT shape - paved the whole way and in better shape than some downtown Seattle streets. :) Trail is easy-to-follow. First part of the trail is a former Forest Service road and is great for hiking. The switchbacks were nicely done - they made it way easier to climb. But be assured that the climb is brutal (at least for a 6 year old and a mama carrying a 3 year old)...but totally worth it! A word to acrophobics: there are some places that will make you panic and make you want to turn up...don't do it! I'm a functioning acrophobic who desperately wanted to turn around at several spots. I pressed on and am so happy I did. I think the wind made the exposed nature of this trail a little more nerve-wracking. It was a bit windy today. I don't think that I would have minded had the wind been less prominent. Once you make it up past the exposed parts, the trail keeps climbing, though it seems easier since you are walking through more shady areas with lots of huckleberries. The leaves are changing and are just beautiful. It isn't too far to the lookout. Great views and a cool, restored fire lookout. Great job, volunteers! We encountered quite a few other hikers, including two big groups who camped at the top last night. There were a number of others heading up as we were descending. Lots of kids on the trail, but be forewarned - the climb is steep, exposed, and windy in sections. If your kids are apprehensive or inexperienced hikers, this one might not be for them. Our 5 year old was nervous the entire way up, but was fine the whole way down. But she does a lot of hiking. My GPS watch put this at 3.29 miles round trip and 1097 feet of elevation gain - pretty darn close to the trip guide. This hike is a hidden gem. Not too long that you can't do other things afterward, but not too short that you feel like you didn't get in a good workout. And the autumn colors are just starting to pop, so this one will be amazing in a few weeks.

Hiked up here on 8/13 with my 17 year old son to spend a couple night at the fire lookout as volunteers for the U.S. Forest Service. It was socked in with clouds and rained part of day 2, so the great horizon views were non-existent however there was lots of wildlife activity to see including mountain goats and marmots. The foliage was quite damp from the moisture in the air so we were both quite soaked once we got through the upper meadow. Lots of huckleberries to snack on as well as bear scat among the berries. All in all it was a great two days staying in the fire lookout. Hauling enough water up there, in two trips (ungh! LOL) was the most difficult part as there is nowhere to draw water from. Driving up to the trailhead was a snap even in a car.

Summary: Sunny, partly cloudy day, mid 70’s, light wind, negligible insects, great views and mind blowing wild flowers. And we only saw two other people on the trail. This is a great hike. The lower section of FR 7030 has some rock fall on the road and some washboard sections and potholes. Aside from that the roads are in good condition. The trail marker at the intersection of the true single trail and the road section is missing so look for a couple of small trees lying across the road. The trail is on your right and starts ascending up switchbacks across the rocky face. Most of the elevation gain is in this section. Unlike the road section that is in shade in the early hours of the day, this section is exposed to the sun and if windy, the wind and if clear, stunning views of Mt. Rainier. This is a gorgeous place to be. On this sunny day in mid-July there was abundant Bear Grass on this section, which was just past its flowering stage. We wondered if we were too late for prime time, but as the trail wound through the meadows on top of the butte we were blown away by acres of Bear Grass in full bloom, completely blanketing the butte. As we hiked up the last section of the trail the Bear Grass meadows gave way to the rocky ridge upon which the lookout is perched. The lookout was locked but the shutters were up on three sides so we could see in. It’s windy at the lookout even though the wind was mild on other sections of the hike. We picked a sunny side out of the wind as a place to stop for lunch. While we heard about ticks we did not encounter any. We did see a marmot on the rocky section and a couple of chipmunks. The Bear Grass was the big, big show, overwhelming all the other wildflowers (Tiger lilies, Horse thistle, Arnica, Indian paintbrush, Cow parsnip, and Lyall’s lupine). In the fall the big show is the red vine maple, and we plan to come back for that. I took three virtual reality panoramas. If you only look at one, check out the Bear Grass meadows. Here are the links to view them in a pano viewer: Bear Grass Meadows, Kelly Butte Trail: https://www.360cities.net/image/bear-grass-meadows-kelly-butte-trail-south-cascades-wa-state#0.00,0.00,70.0 Mt. Rainier from the deck of Kelly Butte Lookout: https://www.360cities.net/image/mt-rainier-from-kelly-butte-lookout-south-cascades-wa-state#-126.65,4.73,70.0 Kelly Butte Lookout from the Summit Ridge: https://www.360cities.net/image/kelly-butte-lookout-south-cascades-wa-state#251.28,8.92,70.0 For best viewing on 360cities.net click the “full screen” tab in the upper left of the screen and then the “hide controls” tab, also in the upper left. Then click “OK” on the center tab and start scrolling.

We followed the directions on the website and found the hike with no problems. However, there are a lot of logging roads and we wondered a few times if we were going the right way. The flowers were at their peak, lots of bear grass. If you have done Bandera when the bear grass is in bloom, I think this hike even has more. We were able to drive to the hike in about 2 hours from Issaquah, which included driving slow on the logging roads. Our Ford Focus had no problems. The views were amazing, no snow on the trail, LOTS of flowers.